A Long, Brilliant Week and Some Films I Watched
I could not have asked for a better week. After getting stuck in a somewhat torrential downpour on Monday afternoon, which canceled beach plans with a few teachers, I decided to splurge and get myself a brand new phone, an iPhone4S. I've been able to get a new phone for the past like 3 years, I've just been too lazy to get out and get one, until now. It's a great phone, but I certainly don't want to become obsessed with it like many people seemed to have become ever since getting one.
Tuesday, I went down to Rhode Island (a state I've always simply driven through, but have never actually stopped and visited) to see the girl I'd met at the A Fine Frenzy concert back in November. She was up for a wedding and we'd both been dying/itching to see each other again- logistically speaking it seemed quite improbable, since she now lives in Florida. We spent the day outside, just talking and getting to know each other better. It's been amazing just talking to each other. We have some "deep" conversations about pretty much anything and everything. In fact, it's like I'm living out my movie-fantasy, more precisely "Before Sunrise." It's been wonderful, but also somewhat of a conundrum, because I'd enjoy being with her (relationship-wise), but it doesn't make sense since we are on completely opposite ends of the East Coast. Long-distance relationships have a very low percentage of actually working out, I think, especially in my case, because I'm known to be the kind of person who needs/craves a lot of attention in a relationship. At least I know this about myself. So, we parted ways after I tried my best to impart words of wisdom to her..."If all we have are these 3 times that I've been able to spend with each other, we can appreciate them for exactly what they are/were. We can't expect each other to shut any doors that may open for us, because of some hypothetical chances that we could possibly meet again." This after she asked me if I would consider dating someone nearer to me. I think it's important to just live your life and not try to make things happen for yourself. The harder you try, the less likely those things will actually happen for you.
That being said, I would absolutely date her, be in a relationship with her, if it were a possibility.
4th of July- Great time on the Eastern Prom with friends, eating food, drinking some beers, sharing laughs. A couple of friends of mine have apartments right on the Eastern Prom, so it was great just being able to walk down Congress Street and camp out on their lawn to watch the fireworks. It was quite crowded down on the Eastern Prom, but an excellent opportunity to people-watch. There was definitely an interesting, eclectic group of individuals to watch.
Friday- It was time to end an era with my old, trusty car (which unfortunately did not pass inspection so I had to think about whether it was worth spending $1,000 to keep it for at least one more year). Unfortunately, it didn't take me long to think about it, because I kind of knew this day was coming. I've had my white, Hyundai Elantra since 2005 (and it's 10 years old). We've been through 3-4 serious relationships; we've traveled, literally, around the country for an entire summer and met some amazing people; we've always gone up and down the East Coast 3-4 times as well; not to mention the countless trips to Boston for concerts or visits to my sister's different places (Somerville and Salem).
After deliberating for about an hour, I chose a brand new, 2013 Hyundai Accent. It's my first, true, new car purchase. First time I've had to make car payments. First time, I guess I've truly felt like the "adult" I'm supposed to be. I know, I've been living on my own since I was 18 years old. I've had several long-term jobs, hell, I even have a "career" now, as a teacher. I've had a pet, my cat Artax, for about 8 years now. I've been a few long-term relationships, and made plenty of mistakes, which I've learned from, so all of that should make me feel like an "adult," and yes, I suppose I've felt like an adult, but this was really a time that it truly hit me. Adulthood. Scary. An adventure.
Saturday- I spent the day with family at the lake- Bunganut Lake in Alfred. It was great to see people I haven't seen in quite a few months. I spent the day eating some food and just floating out on the water! Quite relaxing, indeed.
.....................................................
Film 187
"Remember the Daze"
starring: Amber Heard
Here is a film that is the poor man's indie version of a greater film, "Can't Hardly Wait." Now, for everything that "Can't Hardly Wait" gets right, this one gets wrong. It's a film that follows a bunch (too many insignificant characters, to be honest) of high schoolers who are getting ready to party and celebrate their last day of school before they become seniors. Really?! They are juniors! Probably the most insignificant time in someone's high schooler's career. But, okay, yes, I agree the last day of school and ensuing summer is the pivotal transition from insignificance to notoriety (as a senior). It's set in 1999, which also carries some significance as the final year of the century. This is definitely a time I remember well, because I was also a junior, entering senior year in 1999, but I wasn't solely focused on partying hard like these characters. In fact, that's all this film is about...the 24-hour party that stretches throughout the night. And it's actually quite boring, because you don't really care about this characters, at all. They are all very surface-only.
There's the typical blonde girl (Amber Heard, whom I enjoy as an actress, thanks to her dimples and the caved-in corners of her lips when she smiles, which makes her unbelievably attractive). She's got an overly-peppy, cheerleader friend (a brunette Marnette Patterson, here) who has a terrible boyfriend. There's a few other stereotypical high school girls who try to help each other and pontificate about where their lives are going and the boyfriends that consistently disappoint them. A lot of their dialogue is trite and pointless. I know I'm almost 32 years old and high school was almost 15 years old for me, but I definitely could not relate to their supposed problems. And then, there's the high school boys in the story, who all act completely ridiculous as wanna-gangsters. I'm convinced nowadays that nobody should ever talk the way these dudes actually do in the film; and the way they act is as equally ridiculous. I just could not buy into anything this film was trying to sell me.
I prefer watching better films like "Dazed and Confused" and "Can't Hardly Wait."
........................................................
Film 188
"Daydream Nation"
starring: Kat Denning
"Teenage angst has paid off well/Now I'm bored and old/Self-appointed judges judge/More than they've been sold"
Those are lyrics to Nirvana's "Serve the Servants." Both this song and this film are filled with sardonic wit and sarcasm against getting old and facing yourself.
"Daydream Nation" is a great film noir. It has enough teenage angst to fill a pillow case with and then punch repeatedly, or scream/cry into, charming wit, a nervous sense of dread for reality, and uncomfortable sensuality (because of the relationship it is portrayed in- high school student and teacher).
The film follows the story of a 17 year old girl who is self-assured and sexually precocious as she attempts to deal with the fact that she now lives in a boring and weird small town where nothing ever seems to happen, so she decides to make her own fun happen.
Caroline Wexler, played expertly and perfectly by Kat Dennings, is the 17 year old girl who is the right amount of whip-smart that perhaps Liz Phair was singing about in her earliest songs from albums like "Whip-smart" and "Exile on Guyville." In fact, Caroline probably listens to albums from those early to mid-90s female singers on repeat as she conjures up her schemes of fun in the small town. Kat Dennings seems to always play female characters who are brazenly cheeky because its a characteristic she has either perfected when studying acting or she's just a natural at it. Either way, it works for her every time.
Caroline's scheme is that she has set her sights on seducing one of her teachers at school, Mr. Anderson (played by Josh Lucas). She certainly enjoys toying with his emotions, but quickly realizes that he wants so much more than to just fool around in a playful affair with his student. He's got some emotional baggage that she just does not want any part in. Meanwhile, there's a teenage boy who is interested in her, and whom she first uses as a scapegoat to cover up her affair. Trouble is, like her elder sexual partner, Thurston (Reece Thompson), becomes quite attached to Caroline as well. He wants to get serious and it seems that every time the opportunity of seriousness approaches her, Caroline gets completely turned off. She wants to have her fun without the attachment of commitment. Hmm, I think I knew a girl like this, before! Caroline wants to avoid emotional vulnerability and doesn't let on exactly why, but you know there is more to the story of how she got the way she did. She's quite cynical, already, and definitely wise beyond her years. The way she talks to people and even through her narration in the film, she sounds real and it doesn't sound overdone. I love her character for the sauciness and prickly surface, which would make me want to dive beneath the surface and get to know this girl much like the two guys that find themselves in her sexual web. She is much like a black widow spider, perhaps, because she would be just as likely to bite her lovers' heads off as this predatory spider (or the praying mantis, for that matter).
As you watch this film, which you should, pay close attention to Kat Dennings because this film belongs to her and she carries the weight well. Oh, and I love the fact that the film so obviously takes its name from the Sonic Youth album of the same name. There's great music throughout the film which helps define the dark tone of the film, not to mention the cinematography of western Canada (where the film was shot).
I thoroughly enjoyed this film, as it reminded me of perhaps a darker version of "Juno."
............................................................
Film 189
"Fay Grim"
starring: Parker Posey and Jeff Goldblum
This is the sequel to filmmaker Hal Hartley's "Henry Fool," which debuted in 1998 and this one comes along almost 10 years later (with a plot that takes place 10 years later then the original, much like the perfectly designed "Before Sunrise" and "Before Sunset" duo). I have not seen the first film, "Henry Fool" but I do know that it's about the title character being quite an enigma, whom we end up not knowing too much about other than he motivates Simon (Fay Grim's brother) to become a poet- the kind of poet who in the sequel is in jail for taken his First Amendment rights too far, I suppose. Apparently, Henry Fool was involved in a lot more than he ever let on, because in the sequel, "Fay Grim," he is wanted by the CIA for things such as treason and espionage. Not knowing much about him as a character, the plot seems entirely made up and quite arbitrary in order to simply make a sequel from a decent original film.
The sequel follows Fay Grim, the wife to Henry Fool, who is played well by Parker Posey (always ready to be a decent indie film star and give her all to any script, no matter how much of a shell it really is). Her son gets in trouble often at school and apparently the last straw, which picks up the film, is when he brings an antique hand-crank pornographic toy that displays images of an orgy, which also apparently holds the key to finding the fugitive Henry Fool. Enter the CIA agents played by Jeff Goldblum and Leo Fitzpatrick. They are in search of volumes of Henry Fool's notebooks, which contain his detailed "Confessions." Fay Grim sets out to find them, as well, before the CIA gets their hands on them.
The story is hard to follow and the acting is almost set to bare-minimum, but I don't think it's the actors' fault. The script seems lacking anything that could be a plot and as the story unfolds upon itself, it makes you wonder if they wrote it as they filmed. It is not very involved, nor do you get involved in it or the characters as it develops (as much as it can). It plays out like a film noir/mystery that is not to intriguing for the audience. The dialogue is almost forced out of the actors and as they speak they do not have any expression on their face (which I usually appreciate in Posey and Goldblum, but here it's like they know it's not even worth the effort).
The film was too confusing for me to want to follow and it seemed like there wasn't much of an effort put into it, so I didn't want to waste my energy trying to understand it, even though the plot could've been intriguing if it had been handled different.
This was missed its mark with me, unfortunately.
Tuesday, I went down to Rhode Island (a state I've always simply driven through, but have never actually stopped and visited) to see the girl I'd met at the A Fine Frenzy concert back in November. She was up for a wedding and we'd both been dying/itching to see each other again- logistically speaking it seemed quite improbable, since she now lives in Florida. We spent the day outside, just talking and getting to know each other better. It's been amazing just talking to each other. We have some "deep" conversations about pretty much anything and everything. In fact, it's like I'm living out my movie-fantasy, more precisely "Before Sunrise." It's been wonderful, but also somewhat of a conundrum, because I'd enjoy being with her (relationship-wise), but it doesn't make sense since we are on completely opposite ends of the East Coast. Long-distance relationships have a very low percentage of actually working out, I think, especially in my case, because I'm known to be the kind of person who needs/craves a lot of attention in a relationship. At least I know this about myself. So, we parted ways after I tried my best to impart words of wisdom to her..."If all we have are these 3 times that I've been able to spend with each other, we can appreciate them for exactly what they are/were. We can't expect each other to shut any doors that may open for us, because of some hypothetical chances that we could possibly meet again." This after she asked me if I would consider dating someone nearer to me. I think it's important to just live your life and not try to make things happen for yourself. The harder you try, the less likely those things will actually happen for you.
That being said, I would absolutely date her, be in a relationship with her, if it were a possibility.
4th of July- Great time on the Eastern Prom with friends, eating food, drinking some beers, sharing laughs. A couple of friends of mine have apartments right on the Eastern Prom, so it was great just being able to walk down Congress Street and camp out on their lawn to watch the fireworks. It was quite crowded down on the Eastern Prom, but an excellent opportunity to people-watch. There was definitely an interesting, eclectic group of individuals to watch.
Friday- It was time to end an era with my old, trusty car (which unfortunately did not pass inspection so I had to think about whether it was worth spending $1,000 to keep it for at least one more year). Unfortunately, it didn't take me long to think about it, because I kind of knew this day was coming. I've had my white, Hyundai Elantra since 2005 (and it's 10 years old). We've been through 3-4 serious relationships; we've traveled, literally, around the country for an entire summer and met some amazing people; we've always gone up and down the East Coast 3-4 times as well; not to mention the countless trips to Boston for concerts or visits to my sister's different places (Somerville and Salem).
After deliberating for about an hour, I chose a brand new, 2013 Hyundai Accent. It's my first, true, new car purchase. First time I've had to make car payments. First time, I guess I've truly felt like the "adult" I'm supposed to be. I know, I've been living on my own since I was 18 years old. I've had several long-term jobs, hell, I even have a "career" now, as a teacher. I've had a pet, my cat Artax, for about 8 years now. I've been a few long-term relationships, and made plenty of mistakes, which I've learned from, so all of that should make me feel like an "adult," and yes, I suppose I've felt like an adult, but this was really a time that it truly hit me. Adulthood. Scary. An adventure.
Saturday- I spent the day with family at the lake- Bunganut Lake in Alfred. It was great to see people I haven't seen in quite a few months. I spent the day eating some food and just floating out on the water! Quite relaxing, indeed.
.....................................................
Film 187
"Remember the Daze"
starring: Amber Heard
Here is a film that is the poor man's indie version of a greater film, "Can't Hardly Wait." Now, for everything that "Can't Hardly Wait" gets right, this one gets wrong. It's a film that follows a bunch (too many insignificant characters, to be honest) of high schoolers who are getting ready to party and celebrate their last day of school before they become seniors. Really?! They are juniors! Probably the most insignificant time in someone's high schooler's career. But, okay, yes, I agree the last day of school and ensuing summer is the pivotal transition from insignificance to notoriety (as a senior). It's set in 1999, which also carries some significance as the final year of the century. This is definitely a time I remember well, because I was also a junior, entering senior year in 1999, but I wasn't solely focused on partying hard like these characters. In fact, that's all this film is about...the 24-hour party that stretches throughout the night. And it's actually quite boring, because you don't really care about this characters, at all. They are all very surface-only.
There's the typical blonde girl (Amber Heard, whom I enjoy as an actress, thanks to her dimples and the caved-in corners of her lips when she smiles, which makes her unbelievably attractive). She's got an overly-peppy, cheerleader friend (a brunette Marnette Patterson, here) who has a terrible boyfriend. There's a few other stereotypical high school girls who try to help each other and pontificate about where their lives are going and the boyfriends that consistently disappoint them. A lot of their dialogue is trite and pointless. I know I'm almost 32 years old and high school was almost 15 years old for me, but I definitely could not relate to their supposed problems. And then, there's the high school boys in the story, who all act completely ridiculous as wanna-gangsters. I'm convinced nowadays that nobody should ever talk the way these dudes actually do in the film; and the way they act is as equally ridiculous. I just could not buy into anything this film was trying to sell me.
I prefer watching better films like "Dazed and Confused" and "Can't Hardly Wait."
........................................................
Film 188
"Daydream Nation"
starring: Kat Denning
"Teenage angst has paid off well/Now I'm bored and old/Self-appointed judges judge/More than they've been sold"
Those are lyrics to Nirvana's "Serve the Servants." Both this song and this film are filled with sardonic wit and sarcasm against getting old and facing yourself.
"Daydream Nation" is a great film noir. It has enough teenage angst to fill a pillow case with and then punch repeatedly, or scream/cry into, charming wit, a nervous sense of dread for reality, and uncomfortable sensuality (because of the relationship it is portrayed in- high school student and teacher).
The film follows the story of a 17 year old girl who is self-assured and sexually precocious as she attempts to deal with the fact that she now lives in a boring and weird small town where nothing ever seems to happen, so she decides to make her own fun happen.
Caroline Wexler, played expertly and perfectly by Kat Dennings, is the 17 year old girl who is the right amount of whip-smart that perhaps Liz Phair was singing about in her earliest songs from albums like "Whip-smart" and "Exile on Guyville." In fact, Caroline probably listens to albums from those early to mid-90s female singers on repeat as she conjures up her schemes of fun in the small town. Kat Dennings seems to always play female characters who are brazenly cheeky because its a characteristic she has either perfected when studying acting or she's just a natural at it. Either way, it works for her every time.
Caroline's scheme is that she has set her sights on seducing one of her teachers at school, Mr. Anderson (played by Josh Lucas). She certainly enjoys toying with his emotions, but quickly realizes that he wants so much more than to just fool around in a playful affair with his student. He's got some emotional baggage that she just does not want any part in. Meanwhile, there's a teenage boy who is interested in her, and whom she first uses as a scapegoat to cover up her affair. Trouble is, like her elder sexual partner, Thurston (Reece Thompson), becomes quite attached to Caroline as well. He wants to get serious and it seems that every time the opportunity of seriousness approaches her, Caroline gets completely turned off. She wants to have her fun without the attachment of commitment. Hmm, I think I knew a girl like this, before! Caroline wants to avoid emotional vulnerability and doesn't let on exactly why, but you know there is more to the story of how she got the way she did. She's quite cynical, already, and definitely wise beyond her years. The way she talks to people and even through her narration in the film, she sounds real and it doesn't sound overdone. I love her character for the sauciness and prickly surface, which would make me want to dive beneath the surface and get to know this girl much like the two guys that find themselves in her sexual web. She is much like a black widow spider, perhaps, because she would be just as likely to bite her lovers' heads off as this predatory spider (or the praying mantis, for that matter).
As you watch this film, which you should, pay close attention to Kat Dennings because this film belongs to her and she carries the weight well. Oh, and I love the fact that the film so obviously takes its name from the Sonic Youth album of the same name. There's great music throughout the film which helps define the dark tone of the film, not to mention the cinematography of western Canada (where the film was shot).
I thoroughly enjoyed this film, as it reminded me of perhaps a darker version of "Juno."
............................................................
Film 189
"Fay Grim"
starring: Parker Posey and Jeff Goldblum
This is the sequel to filmmaker Hal Hartley's "Henry Fool," which debuted in 1998 and this one comes along almost 10 years later (with a plot that takes place 10 years later then the original, much like the perfectly designed "Before Sunrise" and "Before Sunset" duo). I have not seen the first film, "Henry Fool" but I do know that it's about the title character being quite an enigma, whom we end up not knowing too much about other than he motivates Simon (Fay Grim's brother) to become a poet- the kind of poet who in the sequel is in jail for taken his First Amendment rights too far, I suppose. Apparently, Henry Fool was involved in a lot more than he ever let on, because in the sequel, "Fay Grim," he is wanted by the CIA for things such as treason and espionage. Not knowing much about him as a character, the plot seems entirely made up and quite arbitrary in order to simply make a sequel from a decent original film.
The sequel follows Fay Grim, the wife to Henry Fool, who is played well by Parker Posey (always ready to be a decent indie film star and give her all to any script, no matter how much of a shell it really is). Her son gets in trouble often at school and apparently the last straw, which picks up the film, is when he brings an antique hand-crank pornographic toy that displays images of an orgy, which also apparently holds the key to finding the fugitive Henry Fool. Enter the CIA agents played by Jeff Goldblum and Leo Fitzpatrick. They are in search of volumes of Henry Fool's notebooks, which contain his detailed "Confessions." Fay Grim sets out to find them, as well, before the CIA gets their hands on them.
The story is hard to follow and the acting is almost set to bare-minimum, but I don't think it's the actors' fault. The script seems lacking anything that could be a plot and as the story unfolds upon itself, it makes you wonder if they wrote it as they filmed. It is not very involved, nor do you get involved in it or the characters as it develops (as much as it can). It plays out like a film noir/mystery that is not to intriguing for the audience. The dialogue is almost forced out of the actors and as they speak they do not have any expression on their face (which I usually appreciate in Posey and Goldblum, but here it's like they know it's not even worth the effort).
The film was too confusing for me to want to follow and it seemed like there wasn't much of an effort put into it, so I didn't want to waste my energy trying to understand it, even though the plot could've been intriguing if it had been handled different.
This was missed its mark with me, unfortunately.
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